Impact of Work-Related Burn Injury on Social Reintegration Outcomes: A Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation (LIBRE) Study.
Jeffrey C Schneider, Vivian L Shie, Leda F Espinoza and 7 others
PMID 29183751WHAT IT FOUND
Adult burn survivors injured at work reported worse work and employment outcomes than those injured elsewhere, including fear of going to work and feeling limited at work.
Other social reintegration areas showed no differences after accounting for other factors.
Key findings
01In the final sample of 595 burn survivors, those with work-related injuries scored significantly lower on the Work and Employment scale after adjustment.
02All other LIBRE Profile scale scores showed no significant differences between groups in adjusted analyses.
03Within the Work and Employment scale, survivors with work-related injuries scored significantly worse on 6 of the 19 items, including fear of going to work and feeling limited in work performance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it shows an association at one point in time, not that work-related burn injury caused worse outcomes. Recruitment was voluntary through burn peer support groups, social media, clinics, and conferences, so selection bias is possible. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were self-reported, so participants may have reported burn size, work status, or social participation inaccurately. Workers' compensation insurance status was not collected, so its possible effect on recovery and return to work was not examined. The Work and Employment scale was analysed only among survivors working at the time of the survey, so it does not describe those not working. Many participants were years post injury (mean 15±16 years), so findings may not capture early recovery.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that treating work-related burn survivors differently will improve their social reintegration. The study compared self-reported outcomes in groups at one time point and did not test any intervention.